


Just Ourselves

by Bhelryss



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Gen, glen is stunned silly by the new company he keeps, grados precious gems as family, prompt: rest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 22:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20299294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bhelryss/pseuds/Bhelryss
Summary: “Where are we going,” Glen asks, finally finding his voice.“Somewhere nice,” Selena promises. “A general’s secret, actually.”





	Just Ourselves

Glen knows he has big shoes to fill. Duessel is a pillar of the empire, silvering in his glory and unshaking in the face of his duties. Selena is the empire’s heart, her shining example like lightning in a dark stormcloud. Even Val- the Moonstone had been great, before. Energetic and powerful, greeting every new challenge with the same thirsty smile. And himself? And Glen?

He runs a hand over his new, red armor. It fits, and in that sense it is terrible. There is no hiding, in this new, bright armor. He is to be seen, at all times. He is the Sunstone, he is to be seen and relied upon. The future is weighted with a frightening newness, and Glen deals with that by running his hands over his unscratched armor, tugging at the cloth unprotected at the joints. He stands, and while he is not shaking in his boots he  _ feels _ like his legs could buckle at any moment. 

Standing before his throne, Emperor Vigarde looks over his generals. The new and old, the titans and the child standing in their shadows. Emperor Vigarde looks, and Glen hopes he can stand up to that gaze. That is a man he respects, that is his king. Duessel pats him, once they’ve rounded a corner and have left the emperor’s sight. 

“You looked like a ghost,” Duessel says, and the hand on Glen’s shoulder is firm, but not heavy. His smile is as big as his shoulders are broad, and it draws a smile out of Glen as a response. “New general jitters?” he guesses, hand still on Glen’s shoulder. Duessel is steering them somewhere, and Glen’s confidence is still reeling from the promotion, still settling around this new armor. So he nods, and Selena bumps her elbow into Glen’s armored shoulder.

“We all were new once,” she reassures. Her smile is like sunshine filtered through a cloud, and he is stunned by the company he now keeps. Obsidian and Fluorspar, and the newly mined Sunstone. “Why, Duessel could tell you all about how I trembled, the moment we left the throne room and all the adrenaline wore off.” And she laughs, and it sounds like bells, and Duessel laugh sounds like the rumble of a storm on the horizon.

“Where are we going,” Glen asks, finally finding his voice. Duessel’s hand steers, and Selena leads them both. This is a castle he’s familiar with, but amongst these giants he looks at well-trod stones and finds them new again. This has been his home for years, the barracks where he lays his head, the walls that he patrols, the troops he used to captain. He has an office now, tucked away in an area he knows only in theory. In the glory of his emperor’s trust, he had never dreamed that the paperwork load would be  _ tripled _ . 

“Somewhere nice,” Selena promises. “A general’s secret, actually.”

Duessel laughs, and it’s a nice laugh. Reassuring, perhaps a little fatherly. It’s stunning, really. He’s said and thought it before, but he is truly in the company of heroes. It’s like a childhood dream coming true, except he had never even considered that this could be possible. A waking miracle, maybe. A waking shock, certainly. “A secret?” Glen says, with a frown. He should have guessed that there would be hidden intricacies to his new position. 

He just hadn’t thought it would come so  _ early _ .

“Here we are!” Selena announces, taking Glen’s shoulder from Duessel’s grasp. It’s a nice little room, with chairs and a little kitchen. “Being so close to the emperor is a heavy thing.” And her voice is steady, and her eyes seem to darken. “We are so lucky to be his hands, but it is not a task for the hearts of many of our peers.”

“Sometimes we come here. In this room I am just Duessel.” And the way that he says it, like a man chuckling over his own age, makes Glen relax a little. “And the Fluorspar -”

“Is just Selena.”

“This is a place to rest.” Glen decides, speaking aloud to have his guess confirmed. “Where we can be…” and he hesitates to say it. Could these great names be his friends? He hopes so.

“We can be ourselves?” Selena guesses. She nods, and pushes him a little bit forward. “We should get acquainted. I think we’re going to work together for a very long time.”


End file.
